Sword Art Online
AnimeJapanese animation traditions and grammar.This show: 10/10Near-future techTechnology one step ahead of today, and what it costs us.This show: 7/10Deep worldbuildingDense lore that rewards immersion.This show: 7/10AdrenalineAction and thrills as the primary reward.This show: 7/10Love storyA love story as the engine of the show, not a side plot.This show: 7/10
Rate this series
Starring
Yoshitsugu MatsuokaHaruka TomatsuBryce PapenbrookCherami LeighAyana TaketatsuMiyuki Sawashiro
Written by
Reki Kawahara
Starring
Yoshitsugu MatsuokaHaruka TomatsuBryce PapenbrookCherami LeighAyana TaketatsuMiyuki Sawashiro
Written by
Reki Kawahara
Ratings per Episode
Votes per Episode
Sword Art Online Episode Ratings Heatmap
| Avg | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | E13 | E14 | E15 | E16 | E17 | E18 | E19 | E20 | E21 | E22 | E23 | E24 | E25 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | |
| S2 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 8.5 | ||
| S3 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 8.8 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 8.6 | |
| S4 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 8.8 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 8.2 |
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About
"A deadly game that outgrows its own premise"
Thousands of players get trapped inside a virtual-reality MMORPG where dying in the game means dying for real, and the only way out is to fight to the top of a 100-floor tower. What starts as a tense survival premise stretches across multiple game worlds and story arcs over the years, mixing sword-and-magic action with romance and melodrama. The animation and combat are slick and the central couple's bond anchors things emotionally, but the show leans harder into wish-fulfillment and less into the survival-horror tension as it goes on.
Watch it for
the tense, high-concept opening arc where death in the game is permanent.
Maybe skip if
you want consistent stakes rather than a hero who becomes increasingly unbeatable.
Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.
All Seasons
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Sword Art Online2012
7.631K259h 37m
In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...
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Sword Art Online II2014
7.419K259h 3m
A year after escaping Sword Art Online, Kazuto Kirigaya has been settling back into the real world. However, his peace is short-lived as a new incident occurs in a game called Gun Gale Online, where a player by the name of Death Gun appears to be killing people in the real world by shooting them in-game. Approached by officials to assist in investigating the murders, Kazuto assumes his persona of Kirito once again and logs into Gun Gale Online, intent on stopping the killer.
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Sword Art Online Alicization2018
7.815K252h 40m
Kirito awakens in a vast, fantastical forest filled with towering trees. In his search for clues to the truth of his surroundings, he encounters a young boy who seems to know him. He ought to be a simple NPC, but the depth of his emotions seem no different than a human. As they search for the boy's parents, Kirito finds a peculiar memory returning to him. A memory from his own childhood, of this boy and a girl, too, with golden hair, and a name he should have never forgotten—Alice.
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Sword Art Online Alicization: War of Underworld2019
8.114K253h 6m
Time has passed since Kirito defeated the pontifex. While Bercoulli seeks to rebuild and bolster the defenses of the human lands in anticipation of an assault by the forces of darkness, Alice fears for the catatonic Kirito's safety and so relocates to a cabin near Rulid. She may not be accepted in the village, but at least she's near her sister Selka as she looks after Kirito. Though she feels that she cannot swing her sword anymore except to cut down trees, an attack on Rulid may force her to act anyway.
Full Cast & Crew
Cast
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka Kirito, Kazuto Kirigaya
Haruka Tomatsu Asuna, Asuna Yuuki
Bryce Papenbrook Kirito
Cherami Leigh Asuna, Asuna Yuuki
Ayana Taketatsu Leafa, Suguha Kirigaya
Miyuki Sawashiro Sinon, Shino Asada
Ai Kayano Alice
Kanae Itô Yui
Ayahi Takagaki Lisbeth, Rika Shinozaki
Nobunaga Shimazaki Eugeo
Crew
Reki Kawahara
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